Quote:
Originally Posted by oil pan 4
Now the thing is I was told that global warming was going to get worse and worse and that the ice was going to melt faster and faster and that with every year that passes there would be less ice.
Never mind that the antartic has been gain ice for years.
All the believers are acting like no end of the world is the end of the world.
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It's melting from above and below.As ice shelves break off,the land-bound ice sheets are no longer buttressed,and accelerate towards the ocean.When this ice calves off and hits the water it contributes to sea level rise.
The Arctic ocean isn't an issue for sea level,but Greenland and Antarctica are.There's over 220-feet of sea level tied up between the two ice masses.
The Arctic IS important with respect to Methane,which is 100X more potent a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.
Loss of albedo,solar-thermal expansion of the water,and new ice entering the oceans are of great concern.
One other important consideration for Antarctica,is that much of the continent supporting the ice is below sea level,and the warm water is eroding the grounding line,inland,underneath the ice.There is a concern that at some point,the ice will just float up and off the continent.
And the weight lifted off the continent will cause the land to rebound upwards,further exacerbating the sea level.